Doctor charged in $13.7M scheme 

SPOKANE, Wash. – Dr. Thomas Andrew Webster of Sylvania, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to accept kickbacks in connection with a fraudulent telemarketing and medical supply scheme throughout Washington and in other states, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. According to the plea agreement and information disclosed in court proceedings, between May 2021 and September 2023, Webster participated in a telemarketing scheme and conspiracy whereby a company identified as “Company A” obtained Medicare and TRICARE beneficiary information by using telemarketers to contact patients in Eastern Washington and elsewhere to obtain their personal and health information. Company A then used the information to create a fake medical record that falsely and fraudulently reflected doctor visits and treatment that did not exist, and fraudulent medical orders for DME. Webster then signed the fraudulent medical documentation and DME orders, which were then sold by Company A to companies that used the orders to falsely bill Medicare and TRICARE. Company A and Webster also falsely and fraudulently billed Medicare and TRICARE for the fictitious doctor visits and exams that did not take place. As a result, Medicare and TRICARE paid more than $13.7 million for DME fraudulently ordered by Webster for thousands of beneficiaries in Eastern Washington and elsewhere, including beneficiaries who lacked the limb for which defendant supposedly performed the exam and ordered the DME, because it had been previously amputated.  Webster also admitted to directly receiving at least $839,565 from Medicare and TRICARE for fraudulent doctor visits and exams that never took place.